Hello Everone,
I just wanted to give an update on my Masonic journey. Last night I went through my EA degree. The officers of the lodge did such a great job and the evening was an amazing experience. I am very happy and proud to belong to such a great organization! Thanks again to everyone who was there last night to share in my experience. I look forward to the other two degrees.

Next time the EA degree is going to be presented by either your lodge or one nearby, try and be there to see it; as a spectator, you’ll likely pick up a lot that you missed when you went through it yourself. It also helps you learn your EA lesson.

Hello Everone,
I just wanted to give an update on my Masonic journey. Last night I went through my EA degree. The officers of the lodge did such a great job and the evening was an amazing experience. I am very happy and proud to belong to such a great organization! Thanks again to everyone who was there last night to share in my experience. I look forward to the other two degrees.

Good to have you in our lodge, Eric! You got the extra special event of having the Grand Master of Massachusetts present. That doesn’t happen to often.

Glad you enjoyed the ceremony. Our officers do indeed do a great job. The whole 1st Degree experience is extraordinary in itself, add in good officers and it is an awesome experience.

Thank you to everyone for your continued kind words and warm welcomes. As I continue to keep this post updated (I have been writing in this post and keeping it updated since before I submitted my petition) I just wanted to let everyone know that I will be going through my FC degree on Thursday (3/3/11). I am looking forward to it very much. I will be updating this post again after Thursday to let you all know how it went. Thanks!

Just curious, in your state do you have to memorize a proficiency? I see you are taking the FC degree one month after the EA degree. I live in Texas, and I took the EA on 12/30/10 and am scheduled to perform my proficency and take the FC degree on 3/10. The proficiency takes about 11 minutes to recite (questions and answers), so its quite lengthy. Just wondering if this is what you are having to do, or if you only are required to recite the EA obligation only.

Just curious, in your state do you have to memorize a proficiency? I see you are taking the FC degree one month after the EA degree. I live in Texas, and I took the EA on 12/30/10 and am scheduled to perform my proficency and take the FC degree on 3/10. The proficiency takes about 11 minutes to recite (questions and answers), so its quite lengthy. Just wondering if this is what you are having to do, or if you only are required to recite the EA obligation only.

gjabbar

I can answer this question for you as Eric is receiving his FC degree in my lodge tonight. We don’t currently require a specific “proficiency” to be delivered as you may hear of in some lodges. We do, however, require each new member to exemplify some portion of ritual and this is combined with mandatory attendance at separate lodges of instruction for each degree that expound upon the degrees performed in lodge.

Thanks for answering. I knew that some states had the full proficency (3500 words for the EA), others only had to give the obligation for that specific degree, others had research papers to do, and so on. I find it interesting that the various Grand Lodges differ on the requirements to advance to the next degree.

I will say that learning the full catcheism has been challenging but has greatly enhanced my understanding of the meaning of the ritual, both the “what I did” during the ceremony but also the “why I did it”.

Hope Eric has a great FC experience, I will be right behind him in a week down in Texas….assuming I pass the recitation beforehand!

Hello Everyone,
The FC degree on Thursday 3/3/11 was an amazing experience. The officers again did a fantastic job. Looking forward to May and going through the 3rd degree. Thanks to everyone for your continued kind words and congrats!

Hello Everyone,
The FC degree on Thursday 3/3/11 was an amazing experience. The officers again did a fantastic job. Looking forward to May and going through the 3rd degree. Thanks to everyone for your continued kind words and congrats!

Congratulations, Brother. Now you understand one of my favorite toasts: To the Greeks and not the Romans!

Signature

John Ruggiero, 32°
Past Master, Ancient York Lodge, Lowell, MA.

God never sends us anything we can’t handle. Sometimes I wish He didn’t trust me so much. - Mother Teresa

Hello Everyone,
Just another quick update on my journey. My 3rd degree is scheduled for May 5th. I am very eager, honored and look forward to this wonderful event. Thanks again to everyone for your continued support and kind words.